you guys i worked so hard on this im so proud of myself

also this is just a one-shot, and kinda rushed(TM)

but anyway it's 3,000 words and my longest one-shot ever so enjoy and maybe leave a review?

For the second year in a row, there was a new transfer student at Shujin Academy. This one, however, didn't have a criminal record.

They could tell that the second she stepped through the doorway. She was so plainly American that it was a bit shocking. Light brown - really it was more of a dirty blonde - and red hair was pulled back into a high ponytail on her head, and her blue eyes were kept directly on what was in front of her, never fixed on them, but on the wall. As if it may tell her something.

She was very plainly what would be called fat, but she didn't seem uncomfortable in her body. She wore the standard skirt and tights, but she also had a black knitted sweater on. She was fiddling with the sleeves, which was most likely providing her some comfort.

Teal eyes looked over the other American with interest, roving up and down the girl's body. He nudged Ryuji. "What do you think of her?"

"Think of who?" Ryuji asked, now finally looking up from his phone. The blonde rolled her eyes.

"I swear to god Ryuji, you text my boyfriend more than I do!" She grabbed his chin, forcing his head up to look at the girl.

"Oh." He frowned. "She looks a bit….how do I put this…."

"...bitchy?" The girl finished for him.

"Yeah. But you sound like a bitch just saying that, Ann."

Said girl punched him in the arm. "I don't mean it as an insult! She sorta reminds me of Makoto…."

"Maybe she's Makoto and Haru's love child from the future," Ryuji snickered.

Ann rolled her eyes and turned her attention to the girl once more. "I'm Arrowsmith, Carine. Please treat me well." She bowed politely, and asked just as politely asked where her seat was. Ann could hear the whispered insults about her. "She's like a walking cow," one snickered.

The girl did not falter in the slightest, but her expression tightened, cutting the rest of the world completely.

Ann kept staring.

Ann later found that Carine was a genuine and very nice person. It happened roughly a month after she had gotten to school. Ann had been walking down the hall, ready to head home, when she heard the transfer student's voice.

"Hey! Stop!"

Rounding the corner, she saw that Carine had wedged herself in between three boys who were ganging up on one scared looking girl. "What do you think you're doing? She's scared, leave her alone."

"Oh please," one of the boys sneered. "You can't do anything, you're just some dumb girl."

Her lips pursed, and an angry expression crossed her face. "Gender has no place in this argument."

"What are you saying? It has a place in everything."

"I won't invalidate that claim. It is very true in your culture." Carine's eyes, which had previously been fixed on the floor, snapped up to meet his. "But what I cannot excuse is your blatant lack of compassion."

"What's she saying?" One of the other ones asked.

"I don't know."

She smirked. "It seems I was right in theorizing that you aren't very intelligent. Hm, let me put it this way. You see, where I come from, rape - which is non consensual sexual activity - can get you a lot of time in prison. But I don't know if it works like that over here. What do you say, shall we see if taking a girl's innocence against her will carries a lighter sentence here?"

"Why, you!" The first boy raised a fist to hit her. To her credit, she flinched, but stayed firm in her resolve.

"Go ahead. Hit me, please. Give me one reason for this to be considered assault."

He punched her in her stomach. Ann and the girl let out a loud gasp, their hands clapping over their mouths. Carine laughed. "Oh, you have to be even smarter than I thought! Good for you!" She cooed, but it was mocking.

Soon enough, her level head was back. "Do you feel better now? Ready to go again? Come on, I haven't seen my friends in a bit, so my skin may have even gone back to the sensitivity it used to be at."

"What a weirdo!" One of the guys said. There was a slight quiver to his voice, however. Carine picked up on it and moved in for the kill.

"I suggest you leave before I ruin your entire future by calling the cops. It's a good idea, no?"

The boys scrambled off.

Carine sighed, shoulders relaxing. "Hey, are you alright?" She asked, turning around. She crouched next to the other girl.

"I'm...okay." The other girl said, shaking a little. "I can't believe you did that...did it hurt when he punched you?"

Carine nodded. "Yeah. He packs a bit of a punch, but I won't be sore for long afterwards as long as I'm careful. Are you going to be okay getting home and everything?"

The girl nodded. "Yes. Thank you so much, Arrowsmith-san."

Carine smiled and laughed. "My last name is a bit long for honorifics, so how about something like 'Arrow-san?'"

The girl smiled. "I'd like that." Gathering her things, she left, but not before Carine told her to report back to her if those guys messed with her again.

Once she was gone, Ann spoke up, standing in the now deserted hall with Carine. "That was a brave thing you did."

Carine spun around, shock evident in her features. "Oh, Takamaki-san! You weren't watching that, were you?" She paused, realizing her mistake. "I mean, of course you did! Ah, I'm sorry if I scared you or something.." she trailed off, now shy and quiet.

"It's alright. Hey, I know this great place in Shibuya that sells some really good crepes. Wanna go with me?"

Carine gave her a genuine smile. "Well, I'm always up for some good food. Thank you Takamaki-san,"

"It's no big deal. Hurry, I'm hungry!" She whined, instantly feeling relaxed.

Carine just chuckled. Something told her she'd just made a long-lasting friend.

Yusuke Kitagawa was tripping over his own feet. It wasn't that he was particularly clumsy, in fact Ann and Akira had described him as "graceful" a number of times. He was tired.

The blue haired male had finally found a muse, and stayed up all night to finish the painting. It was too late now to sleep, so he had to get something to keep him awake. Coffee was his first choice, and now he was headed to a convenience store in Shibuya to see if they had anything cheap. He didn't expect to find anyone in there beside the workers, but there was another girl in there. She looked to be older, and she was obviously a foreigner. American. She was chubby, and had light brown hair, with red tips. It was in a ponytail, drawing more attention to her face then her blue eyes already did. He bumped into her on accident, falling to the ground.

"Oh, I'm so sorry sir!" She apologized, helping him up.

"No, no, the blame is mine." Yusuke apologized as well.

Her eyes ran over his body, focusing on his face. "Are you pulling an all-nighter?"

"Not exactly."

"Inspiration high, then?"

"Inspiration high?"

"It's the opposite of writer's block. It's having so many ideas at once that you stay up and write them all out."

"Fascinating. I suppose it could be called that, but in my case, it's a painting."

She nodded, eyes glimmering. "I can always appreciate a man of the arts. Would you like to have a cup of coffee? You look like you could use it."

Yusuke sighed. "I would love to-"

"-but you're broke." She finished.

"Yes, how did you-"

"You're wearing your school uniform still. Kosei is a very demanding school, so most students don't have much time for part-time jobs, which leads to less money." She rattled off the explanation easily, but he caught the slight tremor in her tone. Looking down at her in interest, he said; "I suppose I'll take you up on that cup of coffee, then. I'm Kitagawa, Yusuke."

She held out her hand for him to shake. "Arrowsmith, Carine."

They stood in silence for a moment, before Carine spoke again.

"Are we going to get the coffee now? You look as if you might fall asleep standing on your feet!"

Yusuke chuckled.

"May I take this seat?"

Makoto's head snapped up from her textbook. She was at a little coffee shop in Shibuya that doubled as her study spot, and not once had someone interrupted her.

Until now.

Light brown - it was more of a dirty blonde, she mused - and red tipped hair was pulled back into a high ponytail on her head, and she was wearing a Shujin uniform. Another transfer? She had to be. Her features were distinctly American. She was very plainly what would be called fat, but she didn't seem uncomfortable in her body. She wore the standard skirt and tights of the Shujin uniform, but she also had a black knitted sweater on overtop of it, something Makoto found endearing, in a way.

"Sure."

"Thank you." She slid into the booth, pulling a book from her bag. "I won't be much of a bother, I just want to finish my novel."

"It's no trouble." Makoto said. She went back to studying, and the girl began to read. Two hours later, Makoto was rubbing her eyes when the girl finished and sighed, pressing her face into the book. Seconds later, she lifted her head up and began to stretch, yawning. "Mmm, well, I'm finished now."

Makoto smiled. "How was the book?"

A sparkle found it's way into her eyes, and she exclaimed that it was good, and then told Makoto the general plot without any spoilers.

"It sounds good."

"It really was! How did your studying go?"

"It was fine. Becoming a cop will be harder than I thought, however."

"Oh, you're in college?" She asked, curious.

"Yes. I'm training to become a cop, just as my late father was."

"Oh, I'm so sorry for your loss," she offered.

"It's okay."

The girl stayed quiet for a minute, before asking something. "How is it that we've been sitting in the same booth for two hours, and yet I don't know your name?"

Makoto smiled and stuck her hand out. "Nijima, Makoto."

"Arrowsmith, Carine."

Makoto's lips lifted into a smile. "You're good companionship. What do you say we make this a more regular thing, Arrowsmith-san?"

"I'd say that you have yourself a new table mate."

Ryuji Sakamoto was starting to find himself bored of staring at the leaves falling from the trees outside. Ann was laughing at something the transfer student had sent her, completely shutting him out for the moment.

Said transfer student was now behind Ann, putting a finger to her lips and motioning for him to stay quiet. Leaning down, she cupped her hands around Ann's ear. "Ok, so don't look now but Ms. Kawakami has a nice-"

"-ass?" Ryuji interrupted.

The transfer student straightened up, grinning. "I was going to say eye color, but now that you mention it, her ass is nice…"

Ryuji reeled back. "Hold on a sec, does that mean you play for both teams?!"

Ann and the transfer student shared a look. "No, I play for the-"

"WILDCATS!" They both screamed. Ryuji fell off his chair. Ann and the transfer laughed, high-fiving. The quarter-american wiped a tear from her eye. "Did you see his face?" She laughed.

The transfer student nodded, laughing some more. "Oh, I did! That was a nice one, Ann!"

"It was a nice one. You're a genius, Carine!"

Ryuji had recovered by now, and was looking between them with wide eyes. "You two are that close already?"

Carine snapped out of her laughing state, smiling at him. "Uh-huh! We really clicked."

"Yup!" Ann agreed, nodding with a smile on her face. It was the most that Ryuji had seen her smile since Akira had come back for the summer.

He grinned. "You two are a power duo. I'm gonna be the third wheel, huh?"

Carine smiled, and reached over, ruffling his hair. "Come hang out with me sometime, Sakamoto."

"Sure, why not?"

Futaba was not expecting to go to a bookstore at 3 a.m. Then again, Futaba wasn't normal. Why was this bookstore still open, anyway?

A worker approached. "Hi there!" She was foreign, that much Futaba could tell. She didn't note much, except for the round body shape, blue eyes and dirty blonde hair with red ends. The girl did seem nervous.

Maybe they were similar, or something. "What are you looking for?" The girl asked.

"Um, well, my friend recommended that I come to this shop and ask for Arrowsmith-san."

"Oh! Well, that would be me. How may I help you?" Carine smiled brilliantly. Talking about books was her strong point.

"My friend said I should read more for pleasure. Um, she said you were good about matching people with books."

"Of course! What do you like to do in your spare time?"

"Uh, I hack stuff, and I hang out with my friend."

"Hmm…" she seemed to contemplate something. "How do you feel about mythology?"

"I think it's pretty cool!" She said enthusiastically. She loved myths; her mom would read her the happy ones before bed when she was little.

"And romance?"

"It's alright."

Her eyes glimmered. "I think I have the perfect series for you! Wait at the counter, please!" The chubby girl darted off and Futaba made her way to the counter. Minutes later, she was back, a stack of five books tucked under her arm. "How about this?" She asked, nudging the first book to Futaba. She picked it up, reading the title as Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. She read the summary, and had to admit that her curiosity was peaked.

"Looks good to me," she said, paying for the books.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Carine said, scribbling something down on the paper.

"That's my name and number, if you need anything, Ms…."

"Sakura." Futaba finished for her.

Carine smiled. "That's a wonderful name, Sakura-san. Please visit soon!"

For the first time in a while, Futaba walked out of an encounter with a stranger smiling and giddy.

"Oh, please let me help you!"

Some of the weight from Haru's arms was lifted. "Why thank you!" She thanked.

The person smiled, blue eyes showing kindness. Her dirty blonde hair (with red tips) swayed in the wind.

"You really shouldn't carry so much by yourself! You may get injured!" The girl said, concerned.

"I'm fine, really! I was just taking these to Mako-chan's house. She doesn't take very good care of herself now that she's moved out."

The girl tilted her head. "You wouldn't happen to be talking about Makoto Nijima, would you?"

"The very same. Do you know her?"

"Yes, and I think I know you, too. You're Haru Okumura, correct?"

"Yes, how did you know me?"

"Ah, Makoto talks about you all the time." She winked at Haru and nudged her gently, making Haru blush. "My name's Arrowsmith Carine."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, miss Arrowsmith!"

"Thank you! It's very nice to meet you as well. Now, what do you say to the idea of surprising Makoto?"

"I say it's a good idea."

Akira Kurusu had been expecting Ann to wait for him at the station. He had not, however, planned for Ann to get the group together.

The group, plus one. The newest addition was chubby, and was definetly an American. Blue eyes met his curiously, and dirty blonde and red hair swayed in the wind.

He and Ann met, kissing and generally just thrilled to be around the other. They faced the group minutes later, hands intertwined. The new addition to the group clapped excitedly.

"Oh look Ryuji! Aren't they the cutest?!" When Ryuji didn't respond, instead just stared at her, she said, "Look me dead in the eye and tell me they aren't."

Ryuji just sighed, pink dusting his cheeks.

"Ha!" She yelled victoriously. "I win!"

Now that Akira thought about it, the new girl reminded him a bit of Futaba.

"Carine, you haven't even introduced yourself yet." Ann deadpanned.

"Oh, that's right! I'm Arrowsmith, Carine! Ann's one of my best friends so I hope we get along!" She chimed. "Also, I'm the newest member of the 'if you break Ann's heart, i'll break every bone in your body,' club, so don't do it!" She was still smiling. Akira blinked, grinning.

"I don't plan on it." Was all he said.

She put a hand under her chin. "Oh you are such a MC!"

"MC?" He asked.

"Main Character. You know, that nerd you insert yourself into at the beginning of all those JRPG's."

"I'd like to think I'm a little more than a nerd."

"Are you sassier?"

"No, genius, what gave you that idea?"

Her eyes lit up. "Well, Einstein, it was the theses on page 476 of your report on frogs."

He chuckled. "You've got me."

They all laughed at her antics, and her heart swelled. This was where she belonged. They decided to walk to the station, so they could try the new Indian joint that had just opened up.

"I like the new one." He hummed to Ann.

"Good," she laughed. "Everyone else already loves her."

Said girl ran up to Ann, slowing her pace when she reached Ann's side.

"Hey Ann, not trying to steal your man, but he has a nice ass."

"What is it with you and ass lately?!" She asked loudly, but she was laughing. Carine winked, running up to Ryuji and slapping said boy's butt.

"I've got one in mind, so I'm comparing it!"

Ryuji blushed until everyone was sure he was the color of a tomato.

On that day, Akira laughed harder than he had in a long, long time.